Groundhog Day for Buyers: The Endless Real Estate Cycle

Toronto has cooled – but Calgary's real estate market is on fire!

In this episode, Nicole explores Cow Town’s booming market with Carlin Lutzer, a top real estate agent from CIR Realty.

Together, they discuss the driving factors behind the frenzy, the impact on buyers and sellers, and strategies for navigating this competitive landscape. Are they different from ones we’ve seen in Toronto?

Carlin also touches on Calgary's economic diversification and future market predictions, offering valuable perspectives for anyone considering a move or investment in the area.

Listen For:
09:14 - Calgary's Explosive Growth
13:57 - Interest Rates and Market Impact
18:01 - Migration Trends
36:55 - Strategies for Success

Connect with Guest: Carlin Lutzer
LinkedIn | Website

Leave a rating for this podcast with one click here

Contact Nicole Lopez
Real Estate Agent
Royal LePage Credit Valley Real Estate, Brokerage
Email | Website  

Transcript

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Nicole Lopez (00:05):

Imagine waking up every day to find the real estate market in your city is red hot just like it was yesterday and the day before that. Sound familiar? Well, it's a bit like the movie Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray's character finds himself reliving the same day over and over and over again. But today we're not talking about Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, we're talking about Calgary, Alberta. Just like how Toronto experienced an explosive real estate market a couple of years ago, Calgary is now caught in the same whirlwind every day. Buyers and sellers and investors wake up to the same story, escalating prices, bid wars, and property selling at lightning speed. So let's rewind the clock and take a closer look at how Calgary's current real estate fever mirrors what Toronto went through not so long ago. We'll explore the factors driving this frenzy, the impact on residents, and what it means for the future.

Speaker 2 (00:05):

Nicole Lopez (01:46):

Welcome everyone to this episode of Real Estate with Nicole. Today I have Carlin Lutzer. He is a real estate agent with CIR Realty. So Carlin prides himself on giving unwavering client satisfaction. He is transparent, his approach to real estate, and he really wants to guide his clients through the process to ensure that they have a smooth and successful transaction. He's also a reliable and trusted partner, and I'm really happy to have Carlin here on as a guest for this episode. This episode will be focused on the market, the real estate market in Calgary. So welcome to Real Estate with Nicole Carlin.

Carlin Lutzer (02:40):

Thank you, Nicole. That was a very nice introduction and I've been able to listen to your podcast a few times and I think it's fantastic. You have a great personality. The way you interview and the way that you come across is very caring and kind, and no doubt that's why you've done so well in real estate yourself is just that personality that comes across even though we've never met face to face, just comes across when you're listening to the podcast. So great job on the podcast. It's great. I am going to continue to listen to it, especially after we've met over the last couple of weeks here and looking forward to dialoguing in the future with you.

Nicole Lopez (03:20):

Awesome. I look forward to it as well. And thank you so much for the kind words. I appreciate it. So before we get started, I gave you that introduction of Carlin as the real estate agent. Let's get a little bit deeper into why real estate. Why did you become a real estate agent and why is the transparency being that trusted and reliable partner so important to you when you do business?

Carlin Lutzer (03:47):

Yeah, well absolutely. I got into real estate. I was an oil and gas for numerous years. I was traveling a lot of times. There's so many families living in Calgary, an area where typically the husband travels in oil and gas and is gone for long periods of time. Well, when the kids started to come, obviously it's easier talking to your wife on the phone. In fact, many times we ended up talking more when I was on the road because we'd be on the phone as opposed to being at home. So you get at home and all of a sudden you got the kids and you got the busyness around. But once the kids started to show up, it made it very, very difficult to leave home. So I got into something that it was similar along the lines of what I was doing in oil and gas, and that was, it's called, I'm a land agent.

(04:47):

So I had my land agent license. So I was meeting with farmers and negotiating values, market values of their property, if a pipeline was going to come across or a lease site was going to go on their land. So very similar to real estate. So it was a little bit of an easy transition when I was moving into real estate because it was studying market values, market trends, what's going on and what's the dollar value for their land. But I got into real estate because I really do dealing with people. I like getting involved with people because as you know, real estate, I always say business is business, but real estate is personal. And it becomes, you walk through many different stresses with families as they're looking into their finances, can we afford? And then all of a sudden you get to a point where they've thought, they've gone through the pre-approval process and then they get there and they realize they can't because there's something on their credit.

(05:54):

And you're feeling those things with 'em and you're feeling the very same emotions that they're feeling as you're walking through the transaction. Are we going to get this property after Wew write the offer? So I got it because I do like dealing with people. I feel that I can deal with many different personality types and also love looking at houses, love putting values on places, and just working with people in that because it's a very, very big deal. And I think it's very important to have someone that they can trust, someone that isn't going to tell 'em what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.

Nicole Lopez (06:35):

And that is so true. Having the empathy I think is so critical as a real estate agent and you just describing that because it is the biggest purchase in many people's lives. Maybe it's their first, second, third, but it's still the same kind of emotional impact and having that sensitivity. And it's true. I also feel that same angst that my clients are feeling when they're going through it. So having that understanding is so important and being able to have that trust, have somebody you can trust to go through that with you for

Carlin Lutzer (07:12):

Sure. Absolutely. So no, it's been good, but obviously there's the highs and there's the lows of real estate. There's the times when you're on top of the world, but that comes crashing down can come down pretty quickly, right? For you when again, you're walking through clients and you're writing a deal and then all of a sudden the deal falls apart for whatever reason. And that's emotionally very difficult, not just for the buyers and the sellers, but for the realtor as well. Exactly,

Nicole Lopez (07:42):

Exactly. So thank you for sharing that. That's very, very nice and I think people get to really know a little bit more about you and why you do what you do. So thank you. So I know I invited you here and I really wanted to talk about real estate in Calgary, getting your perspective. And before I get into that, I just wanted to share a few statistics, and you're probably well aware of it, but just to set the basis according to the 2023 Global Livability Index that's published, I believe by the economist, Canada was ranked number one again as the most desirable or livable country in the world. And as part of that, there were three cities that hit the top 10. There was Vancouver, that was number five, Calgary, that was number seven, ranked number seven, and Toronto that was ranked came in at number nine. The one thing that we've been noticing or I've noticed over the past few months is that Calgary is basically exploding. And I think you are probably at one of these points where you're at that high or you're getting along that curve of activity within the market. Can you tell us a little bit about what's happening on the ground from your perspective?

Carlin Lutzer (09:14):

From perspective? Yeah. Calgary just seems like it continues to grow, and I am just guessing on this because I'm just going back in my memory as to when it was, but I think it was right around the year 2000, 2001 where we reached the million mark and we are just like, oh my gosh, we've reached a million, we're there. But now, 24, 23 years later, we're now at 1.6 million. So Calgary is growing very, very quickly. I've heard some stats, and I'm not going to repeat the stats because I find 'em very hard to believe as to where they expect Calgary to be in the next 15, 20 years. And it's crazy. But repeat them again. Those are repeat them. Those are predictions, and it's a number that I just can't even fathom. And the number was actually 10 million.

Nicole Lopez (10:04):

Wow.

Carlin Lutzer (10:06):

I know. And again, let, let's

Nicole Lopez (10:09):

Ante. Exactly. Yeah,

Carlin Lutzer (10:10):

Yeah, absolutely. And because of the waves that I've seen in Calgary, right, we are riding oil and gas. There's so many different variables. Yes, we are diversifying inside of renewable resources in technology sector, even in the aviation sector. We're seeing some advances here in Calgary. So we are trying to get out of that. I know that Ontario just views this as a bunch of cowboys drilling oil and gas all the time, but it really has diversified away from that. And we have to, because the world is changing. I think the need for oil and gas is going to be here for years, but those oil and gas companies are moving into greener energies and looking at new ways to diversify themselves so that we're not just dependent on oil and gas. I think it was back in 2000, 2004, five when things started to crash again a little bit, and it was devastating to our real estate market, but the biggest thing is to get to that point where we can weather those storms where it's not as big of a deal. In no way was I intending on getting political in this. That's okay conversation. But we look at what's going to transpire down in the states in November, and that has huge implications for not only us as Canadians, but Albertans. I don't know. I don't know which is the best thing for us. I think there's certainly negatives with, I'm not going to say names or whatever, but either parties, there's negatives, but on the same lines, there's positives with both.

(12:25):

So it's those type of things that everything that we're so contingent. And I think actually I kind of see it. They're not seeing it in the news or whatever, but I feel that investors are taking a step back here in Alberta a little bit in the oil and gas industry just because they're waiting. What's going to happen? What's going to happen in November?

Nicole Lopez (12:44):

And do maybe sort of digress, but do you think that maybe a lot of people, not just in Calgary or Alberta, but across all the provinces maybe just are pausing a little bit or slowing down a little bit to see what's going to happen, where things are going to land

Carlin Lutzer (13:04):

Ambiguity? Absolutely, yes. And that certainly is for the states as to what's going to happen there, but it's also what's going to happen north of the border here too. I think where we're seeing a lot of people take a pause in the real estate world is because of those interest rates right now, they're locked in at a really good interest rate. Why would they go purchase a house that's worth more money? And now they're paying more in interest rates. Why don't they just sit and wait and we see this holding pattern? And that is affecting our market as well because we're not seeing the same levels of inventory. We're down 16.2% year over year from last year with the inventory. People just, I had a conversation with a lady last night who, yeah, Carlin, we'd like to sell, but what are we going to do?

(13:57):

What are we going to do? Are we got a good interest rate right now? And then there's so many other variables as to, okay, we know that we could sell our house. And I think she was saying 1.1 million. She goes, but what will we move into? And I said, well, chance, are you in a position not to write an offer that's unconditional that and go over market value and all those things? There's so many different variables that are going on here right now, and I think you're right. I think in this market here, people are just kind of taking a step back and they're like, okay, let's ride this out. Let's see what interest rates are going to happen. When are they going to start going back down? Or have we plateaued? I think we've plateaued, but they're estimating that in 2000, I believe 2025, they're hoping to see some major drops in the interest rates. And then I think we will start seeing those doors open up again with more inventory and then more supply, less demand. We're not going to see the crazy market. Right.

Nicole Lopez (15:13):

Okay. So that's what you're anticipating in that next year,

Carlin Lutzer (15:18):

And that's just through talking through mortgage brokers and just trying to get a read as to what they're anticipating is going to transpire. So yeah. Have you heard the same thing?

Nicole Lopez (15:30):

Well, on a Toronto or GTA perspective, we see buyers on the sidelines, again, most likely because of the interest rates holding back to see what's going to happen. June 5th is a date that is in everybody's head. They're going to be watching closely inventory. It's picking up a little bit. We have been seeing some competing offers. When a home is priced at market, you might see it coming in, offers coming in at or just a little bit above. There's a few cases of bidding still happening just depending on the area. And for some of the more affordable properties, however, it's anticipated that once interest rates do come down, you might see a lot of buyers coming off the market coming off the sidelines. And with that, there's more competition because you don't necessarily have as many properties available for the demand that's there. And then we might see what had happened in the prior year and a half or so. So it's interesting to see that maybe people will come off the sidelines, but you still have some inventory that's there in Calgary, so you might not see the bidding that you're currently seeing now.

Carlin Lutzer (16:55):

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. No, and this all started for us. This is going now into our third year that this has been like this. Wow. I remember when I first got a taste of it, I listed a place two and a half years ago, and it was my client put a lot of work into the place. We listed it right at market value. Well, we had an offer that came in, and this is big for us, I don't know. And the offer was a hundred thousand dollars over list price and where this person was coming from was they were coming from bc. So they were kind of like, that was the beginning of seeing some of this migration from other provinces. People were seeing that they could, well, if I sold my house in BC or Ontario, while the market was still high, I could put a lot of money in the bank and still pay cash on my next property in Calgary or Alberta.

(18:01):

And they didn't really care if they went above market value because they could afford to do it. So why we're seeing such low inventory levels here is not only the interest rates, but it's the majority of people that are moving here don't have that luxury of just selling their property where they've owned it for 10, 12 years in Ontario or bc and they're coming in writing cash offers unconditional, and majority of people have to write a financing condition. And that's where the panic sets in. Just like, well, we're going to go look at houses and we're going to write an offer, but we're going to lose out because I want it conditional to financing. And yes, we would really like to have a home inspection too. We want to know what we're buying. But people are coming in, they're just like, no, we don't need any of that. Here's cash. You sign this, it's sold and well over list. Right. So as you know, this kind of market, and I don't want to come across, but it's not fun for a realtor. It's not fun for buyers. The sellers are sitting in the driver's seat, but if the sellers are like, they're laughing, but then are they going to be transitioning into buyers as soon as they sell, then they're going to be feeling all those stresses. So be really nice to find out happy.

Nicole Lopez (19:30):

Yes, happy

Carlin Lutzer (19:30):

Medium by the market. Yeah, exactly. Because right now, as of April, we were sitting in Calgary at 0.94 months of supply.

Nicole Lopez (19:41):

Oh, wow.

Carlin Lutzer (19:44):

So that's quite low. And then you got your surrounding areas where it's less because people want to be in Calgary, but average 20 days on the market, I'm starting to see if I see a house that's on the market and it's been on the market for five days, I'm like, oh, what's wrong with it? So either overpriced or there's something wrong with it. Right.

Nicole Lopez (20:05):

So yeah, you're seeing what we saw with 5, 10, 15 days on the market, and then now it's one of my buyers. They are, it's interesting. Oh, this has been on the market for a month. And I go, yeah, three months is actually normal. Three to plus months is a normal time. When it was on 15 days, that was high seller's market. I have a question. With people coming in and writing cash offers, et cetera, do you find that in terms of inventory that maybe the more affordable homes are being, lack of a better word, gobbled up more so than the higher priced homes, and maybe that's making it a bit more challenging for people who cannot afford more than a certain amount?

Carlin Lutzer (20:56):

Absolutely. Right now, that $500,000 less market is crazy, and it's very hard to keep any inventory on the shelf, so to speak. Last year, our condo market was basically not going anywhere. Nothing was really happening with our two bedroom apartments, two bedroom, one bath, two bedroom, two baths, whatever. That was just kind of standing still for half of the year last year, 2023. And then all of a sudden, the last half of 2023, that market just took off because people were no longer able to get those single family home for $500,000 or a little bit less. So they started to transition into the condo market. And that market now is from last year. At this time, you'd be looking at $250,000 for two bedroom, one bath condo, and that's on the outskirts. That's right on the boundaries of Calgary. But now you're looking at 300 to three 30 if it looks really good and the condo fees aren't too high.

(22:16):

So yeah, that market has just taken off because people are realizing, okay, we're out of the single family home. Let's at least get our foot in the door, keep our foot in the door, whatever, and get an apartment style condo. Yeah, this isn't new. This has happened in Calgary before, but it hasn't happened to this where we're going into the third year and being consistent in there because we typically do see those highs and lows. And right now it's just mere supply and demand, the real estate market with the immigration, the new Canadians coming in, and really that's not affecting our real estate market a whole lot. It's affecting the rental market because new Canadians do have a hard time getting a mortgage if they need to or whatever. But it's that interprovincial growth that we're seeing that just keeps the pressure on and the sense that people are really tight. There's so many things right across the board that we are so far away, but we do share so many different things. The cost of living, obviously the inflation, the different taxations that we're seeing.

(23:41):

I think it's right around 16 cents a liter that we're paying for on the carbon tax alone opposed to all the other taxes on top of that. So it just feels that, yeah, our market's strong, but fiscally people aren't doing well. And I think that's right across the board in Canada. Our wages haven't changed. They haven't changed with inflation. Not that we're necessarily expecting that, but we'd probably like to see a little bit more growth in what we're seeing inside of our wages. So yeah, I do see, I do. There's a lot of stresses out there as Canadians right now. Right.

Nicole Lopez (24:26):

Yeah. So with that, I'm just going to pivot a little bit. Sure. Given that this is what we're seeing right now, what do you expect in say that maybe the next two to three years? I know we're thinking by about 2025 in Calgary, or even in general, the interest rates will start to drop, things might level out, but past that time horizon, what are you thinking the market might look like in Calgary? And not even just from real estate perspective, but also I know you mentioned the economy is trying to diversify and not be so reliant on oil, and just wanted to get your perspective on that.

Carlin Lutzer (25:15):

Absolutely. Yeah. And we are diversifying, that's for sure. And a lot of it is still in the energy sector though. We're looking at a lot of solar activity going on. I know the Alberta government kind of put the brakes on that, but they just basically wanted to hit the brakes a little bit to ensure that the landowners were getting the proper deals and protecting certain lands. And we were starting to build a lot of solar farms on land that could grow crops. And in my opinion, that just doesn't make sense. We don't want to take away viable crop lines. So I think they're shifting gears, but they are still really moving forward in that solar sector for years to come. We're still going to be very dependent on oil and gas in Calgary. I don't think it's not going to go away overnight. I think as they work on different technologies for different vehicles, and there's going to be some blips here and there, but Calgary, I do believe will, once the world does wean itself off from oil and gas to some degree, I think Calgary will see a little bit of a blip.

(26:50):

But once they get those other areas of technology and still continue to bring people in, but then there's so many, it's such a hard question because then there's so many different things that kind of balance themselves out as to, okay, now are we losing that tax base of getting the royalty monies of the oil and gas and how does that affect everything else and all the other different sectors. But at the end of the day, I do think that people want to live, they like living in this area. It's not necessarily the weather. We had snow just a few days ago, did stay on the ground. Yes, I know. But it'ss proximity to the mountains, it is very beautiful. So I do think we are moving in the right direction and trying to change the way the world looks at us too. And that's through diversifying ourselves.

Nicole Lopez (27:55):

Okay, got it. Got it.

Carlin Lutzer (27:56):

But where the market goes,

Nicole Lopez (28:00):

It's

Carlin Lutzer (28:00):

Complicated, honestly. I know it is one of the, because yeah, if oil and gas was going great guns, and that's where, and I don't want to bring it up again, but that's where if, because I remember what happened last time when Trump got in and all these rigs started moving south because they just opened up the floodgates. We have some very strong environmental restrictions here in Canada, which makes sense. We protect our environment. But once they opened things up, well, it was easier to get leases and pipelines in the ground there than it was here. So it's just investors are going to go to the path of least resistance. So that's a huge factor for us.

Nicole Lopez (28:52):

Yeah. Know what? There's no crystal ball with real estate. No, I know. We can only look at trends. We can only look

Carlin Lutzer (29:01):

At trends.

Nicole Lopez (29:02):

I love your response. No, I actually love your response because it's true. You just look at the trends and you describe some of the trends that we kind of need to look at to see what could be indicating factors of what may happen.

Carlin Lutzer (29:16):

Absolutely. Well, because what we did start to see years ago, when the market was growing and growing stronger, we saw so many people just say, you know what? I can't afford a house anymore here. I'm moving. And we did see a lot of people move to Saskatchewan that wasn't just single family homes or acreage owners, but that was also farmers. Farmers were picking up, they were selling their land here for, I don't remember exactly what it was, what they were selling their land per acre, but they were going to Saskatchewan and buying double the amount for the same value that they sold here in Alberta because their dollar went further. And that's just the cycle of real estate. And sometimes it's easier just looking at the states and seeing what's going on in the migration, and you see all these people, all of a sudden everybody's flooding to Florida, and then everybody's flooding to Texas. Everybody's, and it's, there's many different reasons, and a lot has to do with affordability, but then all these people move there, and Florida is no longer affordable. So then that ship sails and they look for another place to all migrate to.

Nicole Lopez (30:32):

Exactly. It's like, let's go to Toronto. Oh, Toronto's no longer affordable. Let's go to Calgary. Yes,

Carlin Lutzer (30:41):

Absolutely.

Nicole Lopez (30:42):

So let me ask you for Saskatchewan, those individuals that sold in Alberta and moved on to Saskatchewan, because just from input from friends or other people I know, or I understand Saskatchewan can be challenging. So I just was curious to understand if people kind of came back to Alberta.

Carlin Lutzer (31:06):

No, for sure. That's a great question. Well, I'm guilty. Totally. I was born and raised in Saskatchewan. I moved out to Alberta in 1996, so I'm kind of showing my gray hairs here now. I moved out 96, and in 2008, I got a job offer that took me back out to Saskatchewan and back home. And I think a lot of people move out there, and they kind of miss Alberta when they get out there. They kind of realize that. And really, again, the affordability factor. Right. Alberta still doesn't have a PST, right? Or a HST, or is that what you call it in Ontario? An

Nicole Lopez (32:01):

Hs

Carlin Lutzer (32:02):

T? Yeah.

Nicole Lopez (32:05):

Or GSTG.

Carlin Lutzer (32:07):

Yes. We all have the GST for sure. Right. And then, so we're at 5% and then the HST, so there's still certain things that are cheaper out here, even though the value of the home might be more expensive than Alberta, than it is Saskatchewan. But I do see a lot of people do end up coming back because they're missing the job. The wages might not be as high in Saskatchewan, and so they do find their way back. And that's to the point of people moving from Alberta, from Ontario and bbc, especially people that are retired or getting close to retirement. You basically, if you cut out that HST or the PST, you're giving yourself a little bit of a wage increase, so to speak. You're saving 6% or whatever it is. Is it 6% in Ontario?

Nicole Lopez (33:13):

No, we have 13%. It's HST 13%. Yeah.

Carlin Lutzer (33:18):

And so five of that is the

Nicole Lopez (33:22):

GST, right? Yes, I believe so. I just know 13% of everything

Carlin Lutzer (33:28):

For sure. So I think that's also why we're seeing people move out here. It's not just the real estate market, but the cost of living as well is down because you're not paying that extra tax on everything. But yeah, so I was guilty of myself. I moved out there in 2008 and we moved back in 2010. Just to kind get back. There is a good vibe here. There's a good feel in people moving forward, and there's not the, yeah, people go out there and there's a lot of hard work and people here in Alberta, they want to get things done and they want to do it themselves. And there's that kind of mentality that you kind of get on and you go

Nicole Lopez (34:22):

Go getter.

Carlin Lutzer (34:22):

 Pick up the vibe yourself. Absolutely.

Nicole Lopez (34:25):

For sure. Yeah. A go getter. Yeah. No, I visited once Banff, not Banff,

Carlin Lutzer (34:33):

Jasper?

Nicole Lopez (34:34):

No, Banff. Banff Fair.

Carlin Lutzer (34:35):

Banff. Okay,

Nicole Lopez (34:36):

Sorry. Because there's the Banff Springs. It's the Banff Springs. I walked through that hotel, it was really nice up there and then climbed up that. Yeah, it's beautiful there. And it's haunted.

Carlin Lutzer (34:45):

It's haunted.

Nicole Lopez (34:46):

 It is. Good thing. I didn't know at the time.

Carlin Lutzer (34:50):

Yeah, there's one room that they have blocked off.

Nicole Lopez (34:53):

Oh, really?

Carlin Lutzer (34:53):

Yeah. Oh my

Nicole Lopez (34:54):

God, that's fun. Now I need to

Carlin Lutzer (34:58):

Go check it out.

Nicole Lopez (34:59):

 No, no. I don't want to check it out. Yeah, no, but it's a gorgeous area. Everybody's friendly. It's a really nice location. It is just breathtaking, just even to visit much less live there.

Carlin Lutzer (35:13):

Yeah, no, on clear days. We get to see the mountains every day. There's still snow in the mountains. Yeah. Anytime it's this cool. And it rains here, it's snowing in the mountains, right. So yeah, it is a spectacular place to live. And even though we don't have a hockey NHL team yet in Calgary, it'd be nice to get one of those.

Nicole Lopez (35:36):

What do you mean?

Carlin Lutzer (35:40):

Well, I think you people from Toronto know what I mean?

Nicole Lopez (35:43):

I can't say they didn't make it. I'm sorry. But yeah, I know what you mean. Yes. Like what, 19 what? 67

Carlin Lutzer (35:52):

For Toronto? 19. Was it 1967? Is that, or

Nicole Lopez (35:57):

Yeah, for Toronto. That's the last time for Toronto.

Carlin Lutzer (36:00):

Yeah. That's too long.

Nicole Lopez (36:02):

It's sad. But anyway,

Carlin Lutzer (36:03):

That's not, yes. But there is one team from Alberta still in the playoffs,

Nicole Lopez (36:08):

But yes, Edmonton and, sorry, Connor.

Carlin Lutzer (36:12):

No, we don't. Don't cheer for them.

Nicole Lopez (36:15):

You don't cheer for them at all?

Carlin Lutzer (36:16):

No. There's a lot of people that are from Edmonton that live here. But yeah, a true blue Calgary Flames fan can't cheer for Edmonton.

Nicole Lopez (36:25):

Okay, got it. Yeah. All right. Sorry, I won't mention it. Yeah,

Carlin Lutzer (36:30):

For sure.

Nicole Lopez (36:32):

All right, one last question for you today.

Carlin Lutzer (36:34):

Absolutely.

Nicole Lopez (36:35):

So in terms of the market and what's happening right now, what kind of strategies are you using just to help your clients with regards to managing and navigating this kind of, it's almost an ambiguous market. We know it's a seller's market, but there's so many different factors that are at play.

Carlin Lutzer (36:55):

Absolutely. Obviously I am working a lot with, as you know, my own database and I love talking to friends and well, yeah, my database does become my friends. I like talking to them about real estate. And at the end of the day, I feel that I sometimes don't make as much money as I could in real estate because I tell them the truth. There was even the conversation I had yesterday with a client, why are you thinking of moving? What are your goals? And it just wasn't the right thing for them to move, in my opinion. They might think different. And I say that, I say, yeah, if you want to move, yeah, I'll totally love to help you out. But right now it just doesn't seem to make sense. It seems like you're just looking to move for the sake of moving. Moving's expensive. So I think the biggest thing is just being honest with people, and I hope that that kind of sticks. I had a client early on in the new year, we sold their place. They were looking at purchasing another place.

(38:25):

They put in a market list price offer. And he asked me, it was going into multiple offers. He goes, do you think this was a good? And I said, no. And he couldn't believe it. He was shocked. What do you mean you're my realtor and how can I say it's not a good offer? And I said, and here's why. Here's where we need to be. If you want to win this, if you like this house, you need to come up to here. And they had the flexibility that they could. And so he kind of hung up the phone and he is a little bit mad at me, and I did, I felt bad that I was very blunt with them, but I said, at the end of the day, you're going to do this over and over again. This is your first time out writing an offer.

(39:18):

We've gone through this many times with other clients. It could be six, seven times that we go through this whole thing until the last time where you really get it. But please take my advice. Please take my advice and let's write the offer. Let's bump it up to the point. And sure enough, we want it. Right now, if he was to buy that same house, it would be, I think we're probably about $40,000 more than we were in January, that place. So he was very happy. And it's just finding that fine line to be honest, and not tell 'em what they want to hear. If I sit down and we're at a listing presentation and they're asking me what they think my house is worth and they give me their value, and I never say no, I think, yeah, I think we can get that what you're thinking.

(40:10):

So I do lose some listings as well, just because I don't want to get into that. I've been there, done that as a new agent back in 13 years ago, and I don't want to get into that position with my clients. I'd much rather them not use me than to be mad at me and thinking that, well, I said that I could get you this price and I never did. Right. So yeah, the strategies then it's just also working my website, the leads that come on there, it's very, very competitive out here right now. I think I'll have to go back and look, but we were probably sitting at 5,500 realtors in Calgary and area.

Nicole Lopez (40:53):

Wow,

Carlin Lutzer (40:54):

That's a lot of realtors. And you go up to Edmonton and they're probably about half that, right? So it's not as competitive there in the real estate world. Obviously you still got to find a way to get your name out there in Edmonton, but it's not as hard as it is in Calgary and area. But I think that also comes back to the cycles of oil and gas people, them laying people off. And then what do people do when they lose their job? They go get their real estate license

Nicole Lopez (41:20):

 Oh, is that okay, got it.

Carlin Lutzer (41:22):

Yeah, for sure.

Nicole Lopez (41:25):

Carlin, thank you for sharing that. I really like that point with regards to talent, just being very transparent with your clients with regards to pricing and competing offers, et cetera. Actually, I think that is the right way to go. And I've had clients, similar clients, where I've done the same thing, given the same advice, and I said, well, you put that offer and we're not going to get it. They put it in and I said, again, we're not going to get it because this is the price that we need to put in. Finally, after the second chance they learned. But I, I think sometimes people need to see it and experience it first and then after then they learn and they go, okay, we understand how it goes.

Carlin Lutzer (42:23):

Absolutely.

Nicole Lopez (42:24):

So, no, I love that transparency is so important and providing, you're always looking out for their best interest and letting them know this is what the market is based on my experience, based on the information that I have available, this is where things truly would sit. Absolutely. That sits with your transparency in providing unwavering client service. So awesome, Carlin.

Carlin Lutzer (42:53):

You bet. No, I appreciate your time today and I appreciate you and no doubt. How long have you had your license for? I I? Three years. Good for you. Yeah.

Nicole Lopez (43:07):

That's awesome. Yes, but my parents were in real estate, so it's not completely new to me. So helping them with offers or open houses in terms of setting things up, like the marketing materials.

Carlin Lutzer (43:22):

Absolutely. So you been around it your entire life.

Nicole Lopez (43:25):

Yes, yes. And I love homes and just helping people to find that place for themselves to settle

Carlin Lutzer (43:31):

In. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, no, it is cool when you're shown some clients numerous places and you finally walk in and I think everybody, once you've spent a lot of time, you walk into it, you know what they're looking for and you can just kind of sense it that I think this might be the want. Right, exactly. And it's a very cool experience to experience that with people and the excitement once they do get the house and possession day and then celebrate invites afterwards. Oh, absolutely. For sure. No, that's awesome. It's a great thing when everything comes together.

Nicole Lopez (44:07):

Thank you so much, Carlin. I really appreciate you spending some time with me here today and also just letting us know what's happening in Calgary and giving us some of their insights in terms of real estate.

Carlin Lutzer (44:24):

Absolutely. Nope, my pleasure, Nicole. Nice meeting you and I hope you have a great day.

Nicole Lopez (44:30):

Thank you for In the movie, Groundhog Day teaches us that with perseverance and willingness to adapt, we like Phil Bill Murray's character can eventually move forward to our own February 3rd, basically the next day. As my guest Carlin Lutzer alluded to, we cannot predict the market, but we can use our past experiences to understand trends and navigate successfully through the dynamic real estate landscape. If you're considering moving or investing out West Calgary might be an attractive option. Remember, trends in the real estate market as in life often cycle. And now, for a special news flash this year, punani Phil and his mate Phyllis welcomed healthy twins. About a month after Phil predicted an early spring, the twins, a girl named Sonny and a boy named Shadow, are doing well and we wish them all the best. If you've enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe. I'd love to hear your suggestions for future episodes and one more favor, please share this podcast with a friend or family member. Thanks for listening.